Domino Park, Brooklyn, what a terrific effect!
Domino Park in Williamsburg is probably one of the most interesting places to spend a day at. It is not only a great spot for a family pastime but also a fascinating historical place.
Domino Park was opened in 2018 along the waterfront in the area of the Domino Sugar Refinery, hence the name Domino Park.
James Corner Field Operations, the company that designed the park, made sure to keep some of the old infrastructure, reminding the visitors of the history of this place. The most noticeable tributes to the Domino Sugar Refinery are probably four syrup collection tanks that the designers kept in their original form.
On your walk through the park, you will also find the crane tracks, which were there when the sugar factory was still running. They are now gardens for different species of plants, each of them beautiful and unique.
What surprised and excited me is that right there, among the gardens, there are four beehives that became homes for hundreds of pollinators. With bees becoming an endangered species, it is important to keep them alive, and such a thoughtful idea by the designer has made the park even more unique.
But is there anything to do except look at historical attractions and walk around the gardens? If you decide to spend the day at Domino Park, you can be sure every member of the family will be busy. The park has a volleyball court open to everyone. Everything you need is a ball and a couple of game partners.
Kids can play on the playground that was designed to represent a sugar refining process. Some of the materials for the playground come from the old refinery, so your children will be able to feel the touch of history not just figuratively but literally.
Your dog will find Domino Park attractive. There is a new dog park, and even though it is small, it has everything your pet needs to play and socialize.
And when everyone is tired after the activities, you can have a picnic in the grass area or go to the little taco restaurant that is located right in the middle of the park.
The cherry on top of this awesome experience is that, right behind the park, you can see the old brick construction that used to be the Domino Sugar Refinery. It is now being turned into an apartment building, but all the original architecture is being kept, so you can still see tall narrow windows, a brick pipe growing from the middle of the building, and an old sugar factory sign.
Domino Park is one of those rare places that combines history and modernity in a very thoughtful way, and it is definitely worth visiting on one of these warm spring days.
Article and photos by Mary Zakharova